Kings playoff clincher is no big deal, the players say

There was no champagne in the Kings’ dressing room immediately after they clinched their fifth consecutive Stanley Cup playoff berth with a comprehensive 4-0 victory Wednesday night over the Phoenix Coyotes at Staples Center.

There were no smiles or laughter, either.

“With the evolution of this team, maybe four or five years ago, this was a big deal,” Kings captain Dustin Brown said. “Now, it’s just part of the process. It’s good to get it out of the way and get our game going. There’s nothing to celebrate about making the playoffs.

“It’s not a goal, it’s an expectation.”

An unsmiling Brown was the only Kings player who remained at his locker stall when reporters were granted access to the locker room. Everyone else was in the showers, in the training room, or simply out of sight, which isn’t all that rare.

It’s not every day or night that a team clinches a postseason berth, however. The Kings hadn’t advanced to the playoffs for five consecutive seasons since making it in seven straight campaigns between 1987 and 1993.

“Not really,” defenseman Alec Martinez said when asked if there was any sense of relief in clinching. “I think we just put our focus on playing well. Obviously, Phoenix is a desperate hockey team right now and points are big. I don’t think it’s good to think about stuff like that.”

Tanner Pearson scored the only goal the Kings would need to secure third-place in the Pacific Division and set up a date with either the Ducks or more likely the San Jose Sharks in the first round of the playoffs, which begin April 16. The first-place Ducks lead the Sharks by three points.

Drew Doughty (power play), Jeff Carter and Anze Kopitar (power play) also scored for the Kings. Jonathan Quick needed to make only 17 saves to record his sixth shutout of the season and the 31st of his career. He is one shy of Rogie Vachon’s franchise record set between 1971-78.

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Quick wasn’t immediately available for comment on his play, approaching Vachon’s mark or on the fact the Kings set a team record with their 12th shutout of the season. Martin Jones and the now-traded Ben Scrivens had three shutouts apiece earlier in the season.

After taking an early lead, the Kings spent the rest of the game mucking up the neutral zone and playing the sort of lock-down defense that makes everyone in the Western Conference edgy about having to face them in the playoffs later this month.

Pearson’s goal, in particular, took the fight out of the Coyotes, who are battling for one of the two wild-card playoff spots in the West. Phoenix had only five shots on Quick’s net in the first period and there was little in the way to indicate a sense of urgency in their game.

When the Coyotes’ Antoine Vermette was penalized for interference 41 seconds into the second period, it gave the Kings another opportunity to exploit. Doughty’s shot from the left faceoff circle sailed past a slow-moving Thomas Greiss and the Kings had a 2-0 lead at 2:27.

Also …

The Kings signed forward Nic Dowd of St. Cloud State to a one-season entry-level contract Tuesday. Dowd was named one of three finalists for the Hobey Baker Award on Wednesday, college hockey’s version of the Heisman Trophy. Dowd was joined by Greg Carey, a senior forward from St. Lawrence University, and Johnny Gaudreau, a junior forward from Boston College, are the finalists. The winner will be announced in a ceremony April 11 in Philadelphia.